Frodo Baggins continues his journey in The Two Towers into the lands of Mordor to destroy the One Ring and with it take away the powers of the enemy, Sauron. Tolkien certainly does not fail his readers, as the action continues to ascend, the plot thickens, and the character depth increases. As the battles between the forces of the light and dark begin to clash openly, Frodo and his companion Samwise Gamgee have separated from the rest of the fellowship and struck out on their own. The plot forks during The Two Towers, and Tolkien spends his time flashing from Sam and Frodo to the rest of the fellowship (Gimli the Dwarf, Aragorn the Ranger, Legolas the Elf, Peregrin Took, Meriwether Brandybuck, hobbits) and their adventures. The mood also begins to darken the further Sam and Frodo get from the party, and as Gimli, Aragorn, and Legolas chase after a band of Orcs (vile monsters in the service of Sauron) who have kidnapped Pippin (Peregrin) and Merry (Meriwether).
Review
The Two Towers has more fantastic characters, more intense battles, and more frightening predicaments than The Fellowship of the Ring, which was no slouch in any of these departments. The Two Towers is certainly darker than The Fellowship of the Ring, yet the action and the hope that the two bands of heroes will be successful in their crusade against darkness keeps me tearing through the pages as I try to finish it so that I can read The Return of the King. If The Hobbit piqued my curiosity and The Fellowship of the Ring grabbed my attention, The Two Towers brings my heart rate up every time.